Wolff: Bottas mindset key to overcoming China struggles

Bottas finished sixth in Shanghai after a costly mistake behind the safety car, before recovering to secure his first pole just a week later in Bahrain.

"It's generally a mindset he has," Wolff said. "Whether that's a Finnish mindset, or a Bottas mindset, I don't know. But he is very good at moving on from things.

"He doesn't spend much time cheering about stuff, or being upset about the situation.

"He said Sunday was pretty rough, Monday was also not good, Monday afternoon was better already.

"[The right mindset] is something a racing driver needs to have, and that has certainly helped him to overcome the situation in Shanghai. He also had some troubles with the car that day.

"Just keeping his calm, working on himself and working on getting the car in his sweet spot proved to be the right strategy going forward. In sheer pace, on a single lap, he has done it very well [on Saturday]."

Free to race

Wolff is adamant that the Mercedes drivers will be allowed to race each other on Sunday evening.

"We have always had the approach we want to give both drivers a go in the drivers' championship and we respect that side.

"Now, we are going to stick to that very system until one is mathematically not in a position to win the championship. I'd rather be in P1 and P2 than P1 and P3 and collect the most possible points, taking into account that they will be racing each other hard."

He also confirmed that the 'rules of engagement' introduced to keep the on-track fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in check have been maintained, albeit with a new name.

"We did it like every year, we sat down, copy-pasted them and added things and changed things where we could have done a better job, like Abu Dhabi. We went through the document with them at the beginning of the season so it's pretty much the same.

"We've changed the name of the document – it's not 'rules of engagement' any more, it's 'racing intent.' That sounds more positive."

No "baggage" between Hamilton and Bottas

Wolff sees the relationship between his drivers as very different from the one that he had to manage in the past.

"I think the Lewis and Nico situation was very special because they go back a long time. There was a lot of baggage, some of it we know, some of it we will never know. It got quite intense and controversial at times.

"I don't feel that same stress in the relationship between [Lewis and Valtteri]. Somehow between Vettel and Valtteri and Lewis, I feel a bit of Nadal and Federer situation, there is a lot of respect for the competitor. Whether that can last, I hope [it can]."